Coding ability is overrated

The argument is that past the level of ability it takes to get a job and keep one, further improvement in raw coding skill is a declining return. Years as an engineer and a stint as an engineering manager have made me believe it more, not less.

Key takeaways

• Demonstrated ability to build software is the baseline for getting and keeping a job in this industry. The argument starts above that line, not against it.
• Your value goes up when what you offer gets more unique, and pure coding ability is the least unique thing you have.
• Look at how the pyramid narrows. Maybe one senior engineer for every ten juniors, one principal for every hundred and fifty engineers.
• What the people at the top do all day is code reviews, design reviews, architecture, interviewing, roadmap meetings and advising senior management on technical direction.
• A junior engineer spends something like 80 percent of the job programming. The higher levels drift steadily out of hard skills and into soft ones.
• You build software to solve problems and deliver value. The value is in the problem-solving, and technology is a means to an end.
• The skills I’ve seen pay off most: documentation, communication, estimation, risk prioritization, and explaining a technical concept to a non-technical person.
• This is an opinion from my lived experience. Take input from several sources and decide for yourself what fits.